KiwiRail encouraged to collaborate with councils on passenger services

Horizons' Ruapehu councillor Weston Kirton said he is heartened by the groundswell of support for his petition to reinstate a rail passenger service at Taumarunui. Photo / John Chapman

The changing tourism landscape could bring new opportunities for communities along the North Island main trunk line.

New Zealand's first case of Covid-19 had not been reported when Horizons regional councillor Weston Kirton delivered a petition to Parliament on February 14 last year.

Kirton had collected 3000 signatures from his Taumarunui constituents asking KiwiRail to have the Northern Explorer stop at their station in the interests of tourism, economic development and social mobility.

The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has now published a report on the petition and Kirton said he was heartened by the response.

"The committee said they are encouraged that KiwiRail is open to discussing stops with councils along the main trunk line," Kirton said.

"I was pleased to get support from the Greater Wellington Regional Council as well as the Ruapehu District Council and mayor Don Cameron."

With a sizeable number of retired people living in Taumarunui where there is no public transport or taxi service, the local branch of Age Concern has been a strong supporter of the petition.

Services co-ordinator Chanelle Manion provided oral evidence to the committee and told them that although the Northern Explorer has stopped in Taumarunui for drivers to change or have a break, passengers were not allowed off.

"I suggested that technology could make the booking process easier and I think that a lot of people's tech skills have improved since Covid.

"If there was a minimum timeframe of 48 hours for bookings it would mean that drivers would know which stations they would need to stop at along the route to drop off passengers and would ultimately save time.

"We have all got better at thinking outside the square during the past year and it would be good if KiwiRail can do that."

Manion said some local volunteers have been tidying the rooms next to the i-Site at the Taumarunui Railway Station in hopeful anticipation.

Weston Kirton believes there is great potential for domestic tourism and commuter travel on the North Island main trunk line. Photo / File

Taumarunui, along with Marton, Taihape and nine other stops on the main trunk line, was dropped from the schedule in 2012 when KiwiRail revamped the North Island main trunk line (NIMT) service into a tourism experience.

The rationale was that the journey between Auckland and Wellington would be too long if all the stops were retained.

In the year since Kirton delivered the petition to Wellington, international tourism came to a standstill and KiwiRail suspended the service after New Zealand borders closed in March 2020.

When the NIMT service had not resumed in July, mayors along the route from Auckland to Wellington added their signatures to a letter addressed to the chairperson of the select committee, supporting Kirton's petition and asking the committee to consider the numerous benefits of rail passenger and freight services to their regions as well as promoting the environmental benefits a rail service would provide.

In late July, KiwiRail announced the service would resume in time for summer and the train would stop in Ohakune.

Kirton has argued strongly for the environmental benefits of rail and told the committee KiwiRail has a social obligation to provide public transport that is "efficient and responsive to the need to reduce carbon emissions".

KiwiRail responded that it was open to hearing requests from other communities along the main trunk line that would like the Northern Explorer stop in their town and, if there was a collective group of mayors and other officials, it was keen to listen to their proposal.

Although it welcomed discussions about operating a more commuter-focused service
through the main trunk line, KiwiRail said significant government funding would be needed.

It also said current demand indicated that there was not enough of a market for a passenger service.

Kirton said there was vast potential for domestic rail tourism which needed to be explored.

"There has been a groundswell of support during the past year and of course Covid has changed the nature of tourism during that time."

When he was elected as Horizons Regional Council's Ruapehu representative in October 2019, Kirton told his constituents in Taumarunui he would fight to have the train stop in their town.

The town of Taumarunui became famous in the late 1950s when balladeer Peter Cape sang about it being a popular stop on the main trunk line.

When Cape wrote his song, the overnight train provided low-cost travel for up to 300 passengers travelling between Wellington and Auckland.

Coincidentally, Kirton delivered his petition to Parliament on the anniversary of the date that the first NIMT express left Auckland for Wellington on February 14, 1909.

The advent of commercial air travel and private car ownership may have diminished the demand for rail travel but Kirton said he was hopeful that the need to reduce carbon emissions, combined with the enjoyment of travelling by rail, would increase demand and get Taumarunui back on the schedule.